Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Some one sent me these old pictures today...Its absolutely fascinatig how Cape Town has changed.. and so wonderfully special to have a sneak peak through the time machine...Here are pictures of the City Centre, train station, sea point, N1, airport and many more

Friday, March 27, 2009

I definately read the papers, watch news and like to stay informed on what the current parliamentary monkeys are up to...There just seems to be so much nonsense going on these days that i have decided to bring some light into the situation by posting humorous and positive things concerning politics on my blog.Lets face it - ANC president, Zuma (who idiotically said that people should take a shower after having sex to prevent HIV- the moron!), will probably be elected this year as president because of his dubious fingers-in-many-pies and thus far the failure for the NPA to decide whether they will infact prosecute him for his numerous cases of fraud and corruption and dealings with the 'arms deal'.It amazes me how Zuma has managed to convince his dim-witted followers that having him prosecuted is not in the best interest of the country. That it should all wait until he is already president.BUT on the other hand he claims to be innocent, and says he will just refuse to go to court anyway.Now they arent allowing the Dalai Lama into SA - for whatever reason - its rediculous... and the COPE members are ever greatful they longer have to bare the ANC name in times like these...

The main aim here is to not let the ANC get a majority vote so that they will not be able to change the constitution.

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics:

29 have been accused of spousal abuse 7 have been arrested for fraud 19 have been accused of writing bad cheque's117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least two businesses 3 have done time for assault 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges 8 have been arrested for shoplifting 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

373 in total or approximately 70%Can you guess which organization this is?

Give up yet?

It's the 535 members of the SOUTH AFRICAN PARLIAMENT

(The same group that cranks out hundreds of new laws each year, designed to keep the rest of us in line!)

The Democratic Alliance won landslide victories in two by-elections held in Cape Town on Wednesday, a sign, the party says, that it is on track to win the Western Cape in the national election on April 22.

"If all our voters turn out on election day, we could win the province with an outright majority," DA leader Helen Zille said on Thursday.

The result of ward 79 in the mainly coloured area of Mitchells Plain, where the DA captured the seat previously held by the Independent Democrats (ID), is particularly significant, she said.

The DA polled 79,4% -- up from 37,8% in 2006 -- while the ID polled 8% -- down from 38,7% in 2006.

"The resounding victory in Mitchells Plain is an endorsement of the DA's commitment to non-racialism and to improving the circumstances of all through our governance in Cape Town," Zille said.

"The Mitchells Plain by-election result also indicates that the ID is haemorrhaging support in its former Cape Town strongholds. Opposition voters are consolidating their forces within the DA."

In ward two in Parow, the DA won 96,5% of the vote -- an increase from 83,1% in 2006. The ANC and the Congress of the People (Cope) received 1,3% and 2,2% of the vote respectively.

"The DA is retaining the support of long-standing DA voters and, contrary to the perception of some analysts, Cope is not a factor in the Western Cape," Zille said.

This sentiment was echoed by DA chief executive Ryan Coetzee, who said: "Cope did disastrously in both Mitchells Plain and Parow and is not a factor in the city of Cape Town. It cannot hope to come more than a distant third in the Western Cape."

BEST MUSIC VIDEOEban Olivier We On Fire featuring Bongz & Maggz by Da L.E.SMike Scott Soundtracks And Come Backs by GoldFishCasey Bertie This Is How It Goes by GoldFishPierre Smith Today by Jesse CleggClaudio Pavin and Arri Reschke Overexposed by The Parlotones

ALBUM OF THE YEAR340ml Sorry For The DelayChris Chameleon Klassieke ChameleonGoldFish Perceptions of PachaLira Soul In MindRhythmic Elements The Offering

BEST PRODUCER340ml Sorry For The Delay by 340mlCrighton Goodwill Round 3 by Gang of InstrumentalsDavid Poole and Dominic Peters Perceptions of Pacha by GoldFishKevin Leicher Leyland by Josie FieldMoreira Chonguica Volume 2 Citizen Of The World by The Moreira Project

BEST ENGINEERRobin Kohl and Leroy Croft Sorry For The Delay by 340mlDavid Poole and Dominic Peters Perceptions of Pacha by GoldFishCharlie Hamilton Just Gonna Be Me by JodyRobin Kohl Soul In Mind by LiraRichard Mitchell Qhubeka... by Ringo

BEST TRADITIONAL/AFRICAN ADULT CONTEMPORARY DVDJabu Hlongwane The Crosspower ExperienceJoyous Celebration Joyous Celebration Vol. 12 Live At The Grand West Arena - Cape TownOliver Mtukudzi Live At The Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2002Soweto Gospel Choir Live At The Nelson Mandela TheatreSpirit of Praise Vol. 1

BEST AFRICAN CONTEMPORARY GOSPEL ALBUMHlengiwe Mhlaba Live At The Durban PlayhouseJoyous Celebration Vol 12: Live At The Grand West ArenaSoweto Gospel Choir Live At The Nelson Mandela TheatreVarious Spirit of Praise Vol. 1Vicky Vilakazi Zion-Jerusalem

BEST ALBUM PACKAGINGAmaryoni The Journey - Marabi MomentsRus Nerwich Under The PoetreeThe Moreira Project Volume 2 Citizen Of The WorldVarious The Great South African TripZebra & Giraffe Collected Memories

Tickets for the Main Awards Ceremony on Saturday 2 May at the Sun City Super Bowl are available from Computicket from 20th of March at the following prices:Retract: R262-00Lower Gallery: R160-00Upper Gallery: R141-00Special Upper - R90-00

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I went to see the Dirty Skirts this past weekend at Springbok Pub. I usually enjoy there music and do like a few of their songs (I regularly sing in the shower "call you Sunday..."). But after they had played their first couple songs, the rest all seemed to melt into 'one' song. I have come to realise that after the hype, the rest of their songs are very average and all sound exactly the same. It seems to be a problem many South African's bands struggle with! Without voicing my opinion I asked my friend what she thought? This being the first time she heard them live, she said "they are so boring!"... Do they lack some of that stage pizazz?? Most of the drunk senseleess crowd ofcourse loved them. But throw any semi famous band on stage and drunk students will go crazy (been there... done that) ;-)Picture credit: Amy Hopkins

This was, sadly to say, one of the worst kirstenbosch concerts i have ever been to.Not to be too judgemental on the band (who i now call average), the majority of the reason everyone looked as if they were resiting the urge to cover their ears, was because of the sound quality.After much discussion i learnt that it was infact the sound engineers fault my ears were being penetrated with what was less than permissable sound.He is aKing's engineer. As aKing have never played at Kirstenbosch before it was very unwise on their behalf to request their ill equiped sound engineer to do the gig. He obviously didnt have a clue on how to set up and mix for the large area.The guitars were too loud and that the 'backup' vocalists drowned out the singer. I feel sorry for aKing because this was there first really major concert in Cape Town. They have have a huge following in Gauteng and have had a couple of really good songs. One which i still really enjoyed when i heard it. Being invited to play in the Summer concerts is an honour AND a way to really get your band recognised by a large audience. What a pity for aKing, that the majority of people who went last weekend take away a skewed vision of what the band sounds like (barely recognisable compared to how the radio and music video sound).It was terrible when i heard people around me saying that the khayelitsha back up vocalists who came on at the end to do there own stint, were "better than the band" (yes, a direct quote).Picture credit: Amy Hopkins

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Last night, fires swept all over table mountain in Cape Town – one of the worst ones yet!Morning radio reports said that people were evacuated in the middle of the night from their homes which were dangerously close to the fires. A fire man reported saying that the fires had jumped a major road and he saw poeple being burned alive.Most Cape Townians would have slept thorugh the fires and only noticed this mornings ashy city with the smell of smoke still hanging in the air.One of the schools closest to the fires has been closed for the day.Reports say that it is believd the fire was man made and most likely started near Rhodes Memorial.With all the fires happening over our dry summer season, it infuriates me to think that people arent more careful.All of you out there, please take extra special care to not do anything that may potentially start a fire.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Well as i am a huge fan of South African music.. i thought it only appropriate to talk about a super big event that took place last night. MK (South Africa's music channel) had their 2009 music awards ceremony last night – where (mostly) the best of the best are too be seen.The nominations for MK 2009 MUSIC AWARDS:

Now I have to admit, I was very happy to see Ashtray Electric won an award. There song song 'the swing' struck me the first time i ever heard it and saw the music video on MK. I remember going around to everyone, asking if they had heard of Ashtray Electric? I hope to see great things from them in the future.

The Parlotones deserve to win the amount of awards they did. I must confess though, sometimes i wish they weren't continually chosen for awards. But they are one of South Africa's best bands with their easy listening, groovy sound (even though half their songs aren't their own) and continuous hits. Their music video for 'I'll be there', is really great and that song is really great! Although i think they should have just won the best music video animation award, and aKing should have won over all best video for safe as houses. Their songs have always had the ability to get stuck into ones head! (probably beacuse they are already familiar...)

I am appalled that 'soen my nie meer nie' was chosen for best solo? That song just reminds me of my boyfriend's 'frakbow' (word used to describe a lower class moron, along the same level as dipshit) neighbour. He plays it on repeat at god-awful times of the morning when he returns home after a 'kiff parrrty'.

Foto Na Dans are great live. I truelly enjoyed hearing them play at Ramfest.

The 'best hard song' award couldnt have found itself a better home than with Van Coke Kartel.

I am surprised that Zebra and Giraffe didnt win anything – at least they got nominated!

Monday, March 9, 2009

There’s nothing I like better than drinking a good red wine… well… a number of good red wines with some cheese I suppose does beat the former… and of course there is no better place to sample thousands of fabulous wines, other than the Western Cape wine lands. And for me that adventure is far from over! I am unfortunately – as I have discovered over the past year – allergic to certain wines… although I am unsure of what and how I get the damn runny nose, tight chest and congested sinuses… Every now and then I get these symptoms, and I am on a path to discovering (ticking off) which wines agree and don’t agree with me. I used to be a red-wine-only person, but this has also changed over the years. I have visited a number of lovely wine farms in the recent months, those being:Dornier (pretty good – a great venue);Klein Zalze (their chenin blanc is perfect for when in search of an easy going, more-ish white that’s not too expensive);Tokara (very smart venue with lovely wines - try the predominantly cab sav blend and the whites are all great)Rust en Vrede (What a stunner!!! One of the farms owned by Ernie Els. They make gorgeous wines. But be prepared to pay for them. I actually stopped in at the Ernie Els estate, which is very extravagent and wines will cost in the thousands for a bottle. Rust en Vrede's wines arent as expensive as these but the quality is on par (excuse the pun) with Ernie Els estate.)Guardian Peak (A lovely wine farm with great wines for good prices!)I will do a full write up on my next wine route adventure!

One of my dearest friends decided she would do the Argus for the first time this year. Unfortunately for her, she never got to finish...OK – it's not as bad as it sounds. The race was put to a stop and she and the many other struggling wind-swept riders were bussed in to the finish line.I ventured down to explore the area surrounding the finish line. Surrounding tents and marquees were looking very fragile against the bursts of wind that would suddenly lift up every dress in sight (Of course only Vaalies wear highly ‘blow-up-able’ skirts when Cape Towns black south easter prevails) and get dust into places that would take an hour’s worth of scrubbing to get out.I felt very sorry for every rider out there on Sunday. News this morning reports that:

Winds of up to 60km/h wreaked havoc at the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour on Sunday, collapsing tents and scaffolding.A woman broke her arm when the breakfast tent at the start of the race collapsed with her inside.The start of the race itself was delayed 54 minutes because of the wind, with wind speeds of 40 km/h measured at Chapman's Peak and 60 km/h elsewhere on the route.Scaffolding erected at the Allan Gray building, near the finish line, collapsed, crushing three cars, but injuring no-one. A tent at the finish line came down too.Most of the structures erected for the race at the start and finish lines had to be taken down because the wind was so severe.The Greenpoint stadium construction site, where most of the hospitality tents were erected in sandy ground, became a 'dust bowl' which the fire department had to water down.In some areas there was such a wind chill factor that cyclists had to be warned not to stop.While there were a number of casualties, none were serious and most involved broken collarbones, legs and arms.In one of the nastier incidents, a woman cyclist hit the tar face first in the Perdeberg, breaking both collar bones and sustaining scratches on her face.Another cyclist's ribs were crushed when he came off down Chapman's Peak. A doctor on a motorcycle immediately attended to him and he was taken to hospital right away.Although 35 000 cyclists entered this year, only 25 600 started the race.The cycle tour was won by Arran Brown, of the Medscheme team, in two hours 46 min 32 sec, with Robbie Hunter, of Barloworld, in second place and Nolan Hoffman, of Neotel, third.

Overall the wind was really dreadful, and my friend was very dissapointed not to have finished.. but after more than 6 hours of riding (3 were into head on wind – she even had to paddle down hill), i think there was a mixture of relief there too...Picture credit: unknown

One thing you have to love about Cape Town... especially in Summer, are the Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts – where famous South African bands, sometimes international bands (ie Seether) perform to a huge audience picnicing on a massive grass lawn at the botanical gardens.No smoking allowed! but everyone can bring their own booze and food. Most of the time it is advisable to book your tickets in advance, and really it's inexpensive for a fantastic afternoon with groovy tunes. Akso- get there early to ensure you have the best picnic spot :)On this particular day, we went to see Zebra and Giraffe...They are a very popular band, that only really broke onto the scene mid 2008 (as far as i am concerned).Since then the band, under direction of lead singer and amazing muzo Greg Carlin, has performed all over SA, and gathered quite a following.I met the Greg and crew after their show. G seems to be quite a friendly easy going guy who – thank god – hasn't let the sudden fame get to his head.They are playing again soon at Mercury Live on March 14 – where I am definately planning to see them again! Their whole album is worth a listen :) keep your eyes and ears out for these guys!still to play at kirstenbosch are: The dirty skirts - march 15; aKing - March 22 (definately going to this); Cape Philharmonic orchestra - March 29. The concerts usually begin at the end of Novemebr and run til the end of March every Sunday.

The 'Blues Broers' (featured here) reunited especially for the 2009 Up the creek festival, and were a huge hit – as they've always been. With Albert's crazy guitar solo's and new drummer, Tim Rankin's sick beats, it was a hot performance!These rocking blues broers have some history with this fetsival. They performed at the first ever 'up the creek' and through the years, they have been relied upon as the band that will not only deliver a great performance, but might do it two or three times in one weekend depending on the circumstances. When other bands lost there members, or couldnt be found, or were too drunk/ hungover to play, the blues broers have stepped in on a number of occasions to make up for these blunders.

Other headlining bands were Bed on Bricks, the Dirty Skirts, Aking, Prime Circle and many more...

Put this one in your diary for next year!! And remember to bring earplugs – otherwse you will never get to sleep as music plays til 5 in the morning. Also don't forget your fishing rod, loads of sunblock and a medical aid kit (this was necessary for my clumsy feet). The festival is held on a farm along the banks of the Breede river, a fair drive out of Cape Town, but absolutely worth the escape! Also buy your tickets earcy as there is a limited amount. Only 2000 tickets were sold this year.Picture credit: Amy Hopkins

Friday, March 6, 2009

Picture credit: Amy HopkinsThis is the infamous Van Coke Kartel... I'm not actually the greatest fan... but I did enjoy their performance and think the BASE guitarist has got that 'true-rockstar-at-heart' thing about him. i.o.w. he is an absolute mad man on stage.Their performance really impressed me, and so did Fokofs. I have heard them live a number of times, but something magical came together on stage for them this weekend. Although i did camp right next door to them, which meant i got to shake their hands and say hi, but that was where the bonus points ended.They are true party animals and kept everyone up until day break! thank god i remembered to buy ear plugs this time - as hardened festival goers learn!Although they can't take all the blame. Some Afrikaans muzo who probably had his first music video on MK (our local music channel on DSTV- for those of you who don't know) and reckons he is the next best thing, was playing his own CD on repeat out of his car. Seriously! How sad... I actually saw his music video this past weekend... and felt even sadder for him.. no names mentioned!Otherwise the entire festival was a blast :)

Aaaaaaaand it's 2009... well my first entry of 2009.I have to admit I have been a lazy @£$%! This is mostly due to change in job, moving flat, quitting smoking (ok, ok.. I'm just throwing this in their because i am proud of myself) and starting a new relationship... all the things a 20-something goes through at least once a year living in Cape Town :)Firstly, I have given my blog a new look, as it needed a touch of 'fabulopus' (dont ask – its the word of the week between my friends and I- thanks von von).So what's been happening?well... I have been to a number of music festivals so far. Two really worth mentioning were 'Up the Creek' and just last weekend i went to RAMFEST (a cool rock festival with an additional metal stage and – my favourite – pasty, red-faced metal heads with too much dark make-up, looking ill and sweating their man boobs off in their black leather and spandex outfits.)The music was great, and the shade was sought after! we left at 3:30pm on the Sunday and it was 42 degrees celcius... speaking of which this heat wave has been killing me!!!!yesterday reached a high of 45 degrees Celcius in Cape Town CBDIt has been the hottest week this year! Cape Townians are used to usually getting a late summer in February, but these raging temperautes in March beg the question "Isn't supposed to be Autumn now?"I cannot think of another time i've actually wanted to feel the SOUTH EASTER blowing up my dress...